V-Flyer

Well after the madnes of vegas it was time to leave for the peace and quiet of Maui. As some people will know Mr DL had been left to book these flights and consequently booked them in Y ("it's not far" says he ). Having discovered it was actually 6 hours (and having checked the upgrade price before we left the UK which was coming in at over an extra $1000 each way ) we found ourselves at LAS having dropped the car off and headed to the empty HA desks as we hadn't checked in on line
The agent was unsmiling and not particularly helpful and I asked if the bags could be sent through to Maui as we were connecting at HNL. She begrudgingly agreed to do this and handed over the boarding cards for both legs. At this point thing got worse than they already were. HA offer "request" seating like VS and our requested seats 15 A and B had become 41 F and G . Joy - back of the bus stuck in a block o 4. Marvelous.
"Do you have any other seats available"? Reply "no". "Can I have the upgrade price to first please?" Reply "full". "Exist seats ?" Reply "flight is full". So there we were stuck in 41 Fand G and me with a face like a smacked backside consigned to 6 hours in Y.
Off to security which was speedy even though busy, and then into the same area that VS use so no PP lounge available.
Boarding was swift and efficient with loading by row from the back (VS were using this system too when we left last week which I think is new to them ?) and onboard to one of HAs new 330 Airbuses.
First impressions were good- bright and spacious with a nice blue colour scheme, with plenty of leg room and loads of overhead locker space (just as well with the size of some of the bags we saw brought on as "hand baggage" . Enormous !!!! ) . 41 F and G were literally at the back and we were fully boarded within 10 minutes. Despite what happy Harriet had said about thge flight being full the seat next to Mr DL (41E) was empty and the two in front of us were also empty.
We left exactly on time which was impressive given how busy LAS is in the morning with the flight deck estimating a 6 hour flight with a bit of turbulence as we approached HNL.
Crew were pleasant and efficient and all of reasonably mature years - touchscreen seat back TV is fitted to all the new airbuses with basic entertainment being free and "new release" films being $6.99 per view. I opted to watch the free channel so watched the first six episodes of Hawaii 50 even though I watched the series on SKY.
A snack of a breakfast burrito and a blueberry muffin with juice and coffee was served a couple of hours into the flight with the option to upgrade the meal for a further cost. There were plenty of juice and water runs (actually they were pretty much continual) and you could also buy additional snacks if you wished (trail mix etc etc).
Loos were clean and bright (and yes they do have an ashtray fitted).
We landed almost exactly on time with the approach into HNL being a bit bumpy and were off the aircraft 10 minutes after landing and heading on the Wiki Wiki shuttle to the main terminal to make our connection to OGG.
Overall an excellent trip (and I genuinely mean that ) and probably the best option available to get to Hawaii (none of which are particularly cheap ).

DL

DragonLady wrote: So there we were stuck in 41 Fand G and me with a face like a smacked backside consigned to 6 hours in Y.

Is there a pic of this?

Thanks for posting DL, glad to hear the experience in Y wasn't as bad as expected!! Atleast you have those extra $$ for spending money!

Enjoy your holiday

Thanks for that, DL. Doesn't sound that you were too traumatised by your Y experience.

Thanks for the TR DL. Glad to hear it wasn't too awful being in Y.
I must say that travelling in all 3 classes (on VS) as I do, means that I really appreciate PE and UC when I'm up the pointy end.

I think we should feel sorry for those folks who only ever fly UC, they never get the comparison to know how lucky they are

"Do you have any other seats available"? Reply "no". "Can I have the upgrade price to first please?" Reply "full". "Exist seats ?" Reply "flight is full"

Why do some agents do that when they must know there are free seats. I had exactly the same on a trip to Corfu earlier this year. The "Computa sez no" attitude really irritates pax unnecessarily. I guess its just laziness.

Excellent TR, DL, thanks for sharing

Glad HA were still the same efficient and pleasant selves. Those A330 are nice and airy, aren't they.

And, the flight time is normally closer to 5:30 than 6...

Concorde RIP wrote:Glad HA were still the same efficient and pleasant selves. Those A330 are nice and airy, aren't they.

And, the flight time is normally closer to 5:30 than 6...

The cabin was a real surprise - very airy and fresh and a nice blue colour scheme. I suppose it helps that they're all new. We were bang on six hours (give or take a minute) and the last hour was a bit bumpy .Our flight into LAX last week was longer than usual too.
Have to say I'm rather enjoying Hawaii so far .
DL

Thank you for the TR.